Techniques of analysing residual alveolar ridge width before dental implant placement: A comparative clinico-imaging study

Accurate assessment of alveolar ridge width is critical for implant planning. Therefore, it is of interest to compare measurements from orthopantomography (OPG) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) with direct intraoperative caliper evaluation in 50 posterior mandibular sites. CBCT values (6.15 ± 1.14 mm) closely matched direct measurements (6.18 ± 1.12 mm) with no significant difference (p=0.68). OPG significantly overestimated ridge width (7.64 ± 1.55 mm; p<0.001). CBCT demonstrated high reliability within ±0.5 mm accuracy in 94% of cases, supporting its role as the gold standard for pre-surgical width analysis in implant dentistry.